South Hadley School Committee weighs how much to invest is energy-saving technology

SOUTH HADLEY - The School Committee made some decisions Tuesday about how much they want to invest in energy-saving technology.

Like other town buildings, the South Hadley schools have been part of an energy audit conducted by Siemens Corp., a company that specializes in “green” cost-saving measures.

The mission of Siemens is to find environmentally-friendly solutions that will pay for themselves over time.

The energy audit was completed earlier this year, and in May Town Meeting will decide whether to hire Siemens for an “Energy Performance Package” that puts their recommendations into effect.

At the Tuesday meeting, Candice Walczak, business administrator for the schools, asked the School Committee to consider a list of issues that could be included in the question that goes before Town Meeting in May.

She told them that if all the items were approved, the schools would see $118,000 in spending and $123,000 in savings in the first year. The expectation is that, without the energy-saving measures, energy costs would increase at 3 percent a year.

The committee approved of including lighting improvements and weatherization of the building envelope in the energy-efficiency package. They also included “steam traps,” valves that are supposed to discharge steam as soon as it collects.

The steam traps at Plains School are especially bad, said Bruce Mailhott, facilities manager for the schools. “I can go into some rooms and it’s like 200 degrees,” he said.

McAllister was especially dismayed that children of that age – Plains serves pre-kindergarten to first grade – should endure discomfort.

The committee also decided to put the high school’s air conditioning system on the list, and groaned at the very mention of it. “The air conditioning has completely died, said Walczak, adding that the schools has wasted thousands in “patching it along” for the last few years.

Walczak and some committee members were strongly in favor of replacing the hot water tank at the high school, which is very wasteful because it’s at the opposite end of the school from the gym and the kitchen, where most of the hot water is used.

Unfortunately, payback on the hot water tank is 52 years. The committee decided to hold out for a better deal. “We’re willing to brainstorm with you,” said Jerry Drummond, a representative from Siemens.

The committee added various motors, drives, controls and energy management systems to the items they wanted Siemens to make more efficient.

They decided not to include the dishwasher at the high school with their request, since there were plans to “reconfigure” the kitchen.

Neither did they want to update the vending machines, as they weren’t sure if those would remain in schools.